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Speeches by former President Richard W. Fisher, 2005–15

2015

Janet Yellen Is No Mae West!
Remarks before Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Founding Director’s Lecture Series
Houston
March 9, 2015

Homage to Texas, the Great People of Dallas and the Staff of the Dallas Fed
Remarks before the Dallas Regional Chamber
Dallas
March 6, 2015

Remarks Upon Acceptance of the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle
Mexico City, Mexico
February 17, 2015
"I am full of pride for Mexico. I am full of pride that this country, the country of my happiest childhood years, would now choose to honor me with the Order of the Aztec Eagle"
Speech in Spanish

Suggestions After a Decade at the Fed (With Reference to Paul Volcker, Roosa Boys, Hogwarts, the Death Star, Ebenezer Scrooge, Mae West, Herb Kelleher, Worms and Camels, Peter Weir, Charles Kindleberger, Pope Francis and Secretariat)
Remarks before the Economic Club of New York
New York City
February 11, 2015
"‘Audit the Fed’ is nothing more than an attempt to override purely economic judgments and bend monetary policy to the will of politicians. It is misguided. I pray we don’t go there. I can think of nothing that would do more damage to our nation’s prosperity. That doesn’t mean we should be deaf to the drumbeat of concerns about the Fed."

2014

Comments on Monetary Policy and an Annual Texas Economic Review
Dallas, Texas
December 3, 2014
"In my final four months at the Fed, I plan to urge my colleagues to think more outside the box ... in the interest of securing sound money, a sound economy and sound markets."

R.I.P. QE3 ... Or Will It? (With Reference to Shakespeare, Betsy Duke, Janet Yellen, Yogi Berra and Lenny Kravitz)
Remarks before the Shadow Open Market Committee Manhattan Institute
New York City
November 3, 2014
"The happy outcome to our economic predicament would entail the marriage of sensible fiscal policy with prudent monetary policy, carrying the American economy to new horizons, allowing the Fed to emerge a hero. One can envision less-pleasant outcomes, however, some of them tragic."

Remarks upon Receiving the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service
Tribute video
Dallas, Texas
September 19, 2014
"From sleeping under a bridge and begging for food to being here tonight at this sumptuous dinner to receive the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. What an honor! For me. For my father (and my mother). For my family. Only in America could this be possible!"

The Texas Jagannatha (With Reference to Indian Prime Minister Modi, a Hindu Goddess and Wodehouse’s Big Money)
Remarks before the U.S.–India Chamber of Commerce
Dallas
September 4, 2014
"American businesses are rich and muscular. And those muscles are being flexed. For example, just two days ago, the Institute for Supply Management released its Purchasing Managers Index. The data surprised most all forecasters to the upside … These reports echo a string of others—including the Beige Book survey of regional economic conditions released yesterday by the Federal Reserve—that underscore the healing that is taking place in the U.S. economy despite our having what is, in truth, a dysfunctional and counterproductive fiscal and regulatory environment."

Monetary Policy and the Maginot Line (With Reference to Jonathan Swift, Neil Irwin, Shakespeare's Portia, Duck Hunting, the Virtues of Nuisance and Paul Volcker)
Monetary Policy: Debate, Dissent and Discussion with Richard Fisher
University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Los Angeles
July 16, 2014
"I believe we are at risk of doing what the Fed has too often done: overstaying our welcome by staying too loose too long."

'Never Let Your Brains Go to Your Head' (With Reference to the Sages of the Ages, Diana Sorensen, John Paul Jones and 'Babe' Fisher)
Address for the 151st Commencement, Bryant University
Smithfield, R.I.
May 17, 2014
"My heartfelt advice to you is to work as hard on expanding your EQ as you have on harnessing your IQ."

Comments on Tailored Regulation and Forward Guidance (With Reference to Dr. Seuss, Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke and Other Serious Economists)
Remarks before the Louisiana Bankers Association 114th Annual Convention and Expo
New Orleans, Louisiana
May 9, 2014
"The Federal Reserve knows what community and regional banks do for their communities. We appreciate that you are the backbone for the homeowners, small businesses, service clubs and school sports teams and scouts and churches and myriad other activities that make for better communities. We want you not only to endure, but to succeed and grow."

Richard Fisher's presentation to the Texas Public Policy Foundation
Austin, Texas
April 16, 2014

Forward Guidance (With Reference to Monty Python, Odysseus, Apollo, Paul Fisher, Deng Xiaoping and Mario Draghi's Old Man)
Remarks before the Asia Society Hong Kong Center
Hong Kong
April 4, 2014
"Those who think we can be more specific in stating our intentions and broadcasting our every next move with complete certainty are, in my opinion, clinging to the myth that economics is a hard science and monetary policy a precise scientific procedure rather than the applied best judgment of cool-headed, unemotional decision-makers."

¡Ándale Pues! Having Made the Tough Choices, Mexico Stands to Benefit From Reforms and Navigate Fed’s Tapering With Relative Ease
Remarks before the Association of Mexican Banks
Mexico City
March 5, 2014
"And I believe that as the tide of easy money recedes, Mexico stands ready for the next phase. Unlike other emerging market nations, Mexico seized the opportunity to make some tough decisions and is more resilient and globally competitive as a result."
Speech in Spanish

Excerpts From "A Conversation About Longhorns, Longnecks and Liquidity: The Economy and the Course of Monetary Policy"
Remarks before the 9th Annual Alumni Business Conference
University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business
Austin
February 21, 2014
"We at the Fed are providing more than enough monetary accommodation. It is time for fiscal policymakers to do their job, to ally themselves with us to achieve a fully employed, prosperous America."

Concluding Remarks From a Speech Before the Financial Executives International
Remarks before the Dallas and Fort Worth chapters of Financial Executives International
Dallas
February 11, 2014
"Obviously, businesses cannot create jobs without the means for investing in job-creating expansion, so, yes, monetary policy is necessary to propel job creation. But as I have shown you tonight, the store of bank reserves awaiting discharge into the economy through our banking system is vast, yet it lies fallow."

Beer Goggles, Monetary Camels, the Eye of the Needle and the First Law of Holes (With Reference to Peter Boockvar, the Book of Matthew, Sherlock Holmes, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and Denis Healey)
Remarks before the National Association of Corporate Directors
Dallas
January 14, 2014
"Were a stock market correction to ensue while I have the vote, I would not flinch from supporting continued reductions in the size of our asset purchases as long as the real economy is growing, cyclical unemployment is declining and demand-driven deflation remains a small tail risk; I would vote for continued reductions in our asset purchases, with an eye toward eliminating them entirely at the earliest practicable date."

2013

State of the Texas Economy: An Annual Update (With Reference to Gen. Sheridan and John Steinbeck)
Remarks before the Dallas Breakfast Group
Dallas
December 19, 2013
"The U.S. ex-Texas has seen net job destruction for middle wage earners over the past decade. Meanwhile, Texas has experienced robust job creation for these important middle-income workers. Texas has not been immune to growing income inequality or the larger issue of labor market polarization, but the notion that Texas only creates minimum wage jobs is a myth."

Comments on Monetary Policy (With Praise for Urban Lehner, Norman Borlaug and Dentists)
Remarks before the DTN/The Progressive Farmer Ag Summit 2013
Chicago
December 9, 2013
"In my view, we at the Fed should begin tapering back our bond purchases at the earliest opportunity. To enable the markets to digest this change of course with minimal disruption, we should do so within the context of a clearly articulated, well-defined calendar for reducing purchases on a steady path to zero."

A U.S. Economic Update and Perspective on Monetary Policy (With Reference to Leslie W. Fisher)
Remarks before the Australian Business Economists
Sydney, Australia
November 4, 2013
"Under these circumstances, it is no small wonder American businesses are not expanding and growing jobs at the pace we at the Fed would like to see. It is no small wonder that our economy is growing at a substandard pace compared to previous recoveries. It is no small wonder that the most expansive monetary policy the FOMC has ever engineered has been hampered from accomplishing what it set out to do. In short, while the Fed has been moving at the speed of a boomer in full run, the federal government of the United States has at best exhibited the adaptive alacrity of a koala (without being anywhere near as cute)."

Annus Horribilis or Annus Mirabilis (With Reference to Errol Flynn, Robert Roosa, Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, Felix Rohatyn and Mick Jagger)
Remarks before the Economic Club of New York
New York City
October 17, 2013
"My heart bleeds for my country, for no amount of monetary accommodation, no conceivable amount of 'large-scale asset purchases,' no clever new monetary innovation by the Federal Reserve can offset the rot that is destroying our fiscal house and the blight it spreads over our economy."

$100 Bill Launch
Remarks for $100 Bill Launch at Houston Branch
Houston, Texas
October 8, 2013
Speech in Spanish

Uncertainty Matters (With Reference to Kinky Monetary Policy, Two Nickels and a Dime)
Remarks before the Causes & Macroeconomic Consequences of Uncertainty Conference
Dallas, Texas
October 3, 2013
"A policy that takes a longer-term perspective and is properly communicated and executed—so as to instill confidence that monetary policy will hew to a 2 percent inflation target rather than fixate on the run-rate of the past four quarters or the outlook for the next four—may better supply the longer-term comfort that households and businesses need to plan and budget."

Review, Reflect and Deflect (With Reference to the Texas Ratio, 'Super-Spreaders' and Three Great Newspapers)
Remarks before the Independent Bankers Association of Texas Annual Convention
San Antonio, Texas
September 23, 2013
"Doing nothing at this [FOMC] meeting would increase uncertainty about the future conduct of policy and call the credibility of our communications into question."

Placing Manufacturing in Context (With Reference to Frank Sinatra, Joseph Schumpeter, Ernie Preeg, George Mitchell, Tom Stemberg, a Feckless Congress and … Secretariat)
Remarks before the U.S. Manufacturing Summit
Orlando, Florida
August 22, 2013
"The remaining obstacle to being the absolute best economy for manufacturers and other businesses, bar none, has been fiscal and regulatory policy that seems incapable of providing job-creating manufacturers and other businesses with tax, spending and regulatory incentives to take advantage of the cheap and abundant fuel the Fed has provided."

Horseshift! (With Reference to Gordian Knots)
Remarks before the National Association of State Retirement Administrators 59th Annual Conference
Portland, Oregon
August 5, 2013
"I believe American businesses today are, far and away, the most efficient operators in the world. We have countless businesses in every sector of goods and service production that are the equivalents of the Secretariats, Man o'Wars, Citations, Seabiscuits or any great thoroughbred that has ever graced the track. They just need to be let out of the starting gate."

Correcting ‘Dodd–Frank’ to Actually End ‘Too Big to Fail’
Statement before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives
Hearing on "Examining How the Dodd–Frank Act Could Result in More Taxpayer-Funded Bailouts"
Washington, D.C.
June 26 2013
"I implore the members of this important committee and the Congress to not succumb merely to the illusion of hope. Don't listen to the siren song of the megabanks and their lobbyists. Take action to deal with the unfair advantages that these institutions enjoy… Leveling the playing field is a just cause for 99.8 percent of American banks and for all Americans."

The Status of the U.S. Economy and a Perspective on ‘The Modern Monetarism’ (With Reference to Sheila Copps, Thomas Jefferson, Paul Volcker and William Shakespeare)
Remarks before the C.D. Howe Institute Directors' Dinner
Toronto
June 4, 2013
"My staff and I think there is a better-than-even chance that the present GDP growth consensus forecast of 2.4 percent by professional economists may be underestimating the underlying pace of growth."

Fiscal Policy. Oy! (With Reference to Ben Bernanke, Ken Arrow, Thomas Jefferson, William Shakespeare and the Oracle of Omaha)
Remarks at the 2013 National Association for Business Economics Conference
Houston, TX
May 16, 2013
"I have advocated that we should begin to reef in the sails, beginning with our MBS purchase program. In my view, the housing market is on a self-sustaining path and does not need the same level of impetus we have been giving it."

'Oil and Gas, Blondes and Over-Accessorized Brunettes, and Ruthless, Hard-Drinking Cowboys' (With Reference to Sheikh Zayed, Diana Natalicio, My Nephew Charles and President Peña Nieto)
Remarks at the University of Texas at El Paso Centennial Lecture
El Paso, TX
April 10, 2013
"At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, neither inflation nor deflation appears on the forecast horizon. However, the longer-term inflationary consequences of the massive quantitative easing programs we have undertaken—programs I have opposed in our Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings but that have been approved by the majority of the committee—are as yet unclear. Those aftereffects will depend on how artful the committee will be in unwinding that accommodation on a timely basis."

Ending 'Too Big to Fail'
Remarks before the Conservative Political Action Conference
National Harbor, Maryland
March 16, 2013
"The aim of our three-step proposal is simple: All banks would be subject to the same regulatory oversight—and most important, they all would be subject to the market discipline exercised by owners and creditors."

Comments on Monetary Policy and 'Too Big to Fail' (With a Tribute to Irving Kristol)
Remarks before Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs
New York, N.Y.
February 27, 2013
"The bottom line is that rather than achieve the intended theoretical effect, I believe the policy of super-abundant money at costs deviating substantially from normal equilibrium levels may ultimately prove to be counterproductive. Or it may restrain the benefits that theory might suggest."

Ending 'Too Big to Fail': A Proposal for Reform Before It's Too Late (With Reference to Patrick Henry, Complexity and Reality)
Remarks before the Committee for the Republic
Washington, D.C.
January 16, 2013
"The Dallas Fed’s proposal offers an 'about-turn' and a way to mend the flaws in Dodd–Frank.... In a nutshell, we recommend that TBTF financial institutions be restructured into multiple business entities. Only the resulting downsized commercial banking operations—and not shadow banking affiliates or the parent company—would benefit from the safety net of federal deposit insurance and access to the Federal Reserve’s discount window."

2012

Excerpts from Remarks Before the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce
Gainesville, Texas
December 18, 2012

The State of the West (With Reference to George Shultz, Eisenhower, Buzz Lightyear, George Strait, the San Francisco Fed and Adam and Eve)
Remarks before the State of the West Symposium
Stanford, California
November 15, 2012
"Yes, Texas has a low propensity of social services, and employment growth should not be the only criterion for evaluating a state's performance. But we must remember that economic growth is the foundation for the other goals and aspirations a society may have. You cannot pay for social services unless you have the tax revenue to do so. You cannot have tax revenue unless you have sources from whom to collect it. And the best revenue source of all is a citizenry that is fully employed and an economy that is prosperous."

Opening Remarks with an Update on the Continued Outperformance of Mexico's Economy and Government Compared with that of the United States
Remarks at the conference "México: How to Tap Progress"
Houston, Texas
November 2, 2012
"The progress that Mexico has made is truly remarkable and, I believe, a source of inspiration for both the U.S. and Europe as they contemplate the challenges ahead."

The United States Is Not Europe and Texas Ain't France: America as the Thoroughbred Economy
Remarks before the Cato Institute
Washington, D.C.
October 10, 2012
"I would suggest that if you want to see an economy that has avoided the traps of an overburdened social structure like that which you have discussed today, and if you want to consider a fiscal and regulatory regime that attracts rather than chases away business and jobs, you might look to Texas."

Comments to the Harvard Club of New York City on Monetary Policy
(With Reference to Tommy Tune, Nicole Parent, the FOMC, Velcro, Drunken Sailors and Congress)

New York, N.Y.
September 19, 2012
"One of the most important lessons learned during the economic recovery is that there is a limit to what monetary policy alone can achieve. The responsibility for stimulating economic growth must be shared with fiscal policy."

Remarks before the Australian American Leadership Dialogue
Dallas, Texas
July 9, 2012
"In one generation, a great shift occurred: from homeless to Harvard; from a brutal reformatory in Queensland to the great banking house of Brown Brothers Harriman in New York."

Vignettes of Dallas Fed History on the Eve of Our Centennial
(With Grateful Reference to George Dealey and a Tip of the Hat to Ebby Halliday, W.F. Ramsey, and Fed and Ginger)

Remarks before the Dallas Historical Society
Dallas, Texas
June 26, 2012
"This is probably the only Reserve Bank that owes its location to the local newspaper—in our case, the Dallas Morning News."

Implications of Renminbi Internationalization for the U.S. and the Global Economy
(With Reference to Wu Yi, Being Manufactured in China, Yang Rui, Deng Xiaoping and Avoiding the Middle-Income Trap)

Remarks before the 21st Century China Program at the University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California
June 7, 2012 · Speech in Mandarin
"The seemingly inexorable rise of China and the sheer size of its economy imply that the renminbi may someday play a role similar to that of the dollar."

The Limits of the Powers of Central Banks (With Metaphoric References to Edvard Munch's Scream and Sir Henry Raeburn's The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch)
Remarks at St. Andrews University
St. Andrews, Scotland
June 5, 2012
"I believe that were we to go down the path to further accommodation at this juncture, we would not simply be pushing on a string, but would be viewed as an accomplice to the mischief that has become synonymous with Washington."

Adios "Texas Ratio" (With an Unauthorized Rewrite of George Strait's Most Memorable Song and a Tribute to Bob Hankins)
Remarks at the Texas Bankers Association's 128th Annual Convention & Exposition
Fort Worth, Texas
May 11, 2012
"We were simply rewriting the words to George Strait's song, "All My Exes Live in Texas." It's not just ex-wives, but ex-businesses, ex-employers, ex-taxpayers and ex-voters of Michigan and California (and New York and other areas of the country) who are pulling up stakes and coming to live a new life and thrive in Texas."

"Not to Be Used Externally, but Also Harmful if Swallowed": Projecting the Future of the Economy and Lessons Learned from Texas and Mexico
Remarks before the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce
Dallas, Texas
March 5, 2012
"I would suggest to you that, if the data continue to improve, however gradually, the markets should begin preparing themselves for the good Dr. Fed to wean them from their dependency rather than administer further dosage."

The United States Should Borrow Mexico's Fiscal Discipline Manual (With Reference to Cantinflas, Guillermo Ortiz's Quip, Inflation Targeting and Many Comparative Metrics)
Remarks before the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores
Mexico City
February 29, 2012
"Mexico's rapid recovery in all dimensions of its macroeconomy and financial sector is proof positive that the gain from reform is worth the pain. I would go so far as to say there are lessons to be learned here, lessons for the U.S. and even lessons for Europe."

Texas Redux, America Restrained (With a Discussion of the Limits of Monetary Policy
Remarks before the Texas Manufacturers Summit 2012
February 15, 2012 "In a nutshell, Texas continues on a path it has been on for over two decades, outperforming the nation in economic growth and job expansion. We have fully recovered the jobs lost during the Great Recession and have punched through previous peak employment levels."

A Report on the Texas Economy and a Hawk(s)eye View on Recent Fed Pronouncements: What Does It All Mean?
Remarks before the Headliners Club
Austin, Texas
February 2, 2012
"Explicitly acknowledging that monetary policy's impact on employment is transitory and uncertain is a cardinal event. It signals to the markets that there are limits to the ultimate job-stoking efficacy of Federal Reserve policy. To the extent that inflation is running below 2 percent, the Federal Reserve may have somewhat greater latitude to pursue accommodation. However, the past few years have demonstrated, yet again, that allowing inflation to rise by no means guarantees faster job growth."

2011

Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going? (With Reference to Wodehouse’s Lead Pipe, Saint Willibrord’s Shuffle, Munch’s Scream and Sarah Bloom Raskin’s Sink)
Remarks before the Austin Chamber of Commerce
Austin, Texas
December 16, 2011
"If the American dream is to survive, we will need to re-create a fiscal and regulatory environment that—in conjunction with the Fed conducting prudent monetary policy—will liberate the forces of entrepreneurial risk taking that have always been America’s hallmark."

Taming the Too-Big-to-Fails: Will Dodd–Frank Be the Ticket or Is Lap-Band Surgery Required? (With Reference to Vinny Guadagnino, Andrew Haldane, Paul Volcker, John Milton, Tom Hoenig and Churchill’s ‘Terminological Inexactitude’)
Remarks before Columbia University’s Politics and Business Club
New York City
November 15, 2011
"I shall speak of the difficulty of treating [too big to fail] in a culture held hostage by concerns for 'contagion,' 'systemic risk' and 'unique solutions.' I will posit that preoccupation with these concerns leads to an ethic that coddles survival of the fattest rather than promoting survival of the fittest, to the detriment of social welfare and economic efficiency."

Thoughts on Bastiat (With a Nod to Keynes!)
Remarks at the Bastiat–Hoiles Prize Dinner
New York City
November 2, 2011
"As Bastiat wrote in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1848, we are at risk of becoming a nation where 'the state is responsible for providing a living for everyone.' The reality is that even if this were desirable, which it is not, pliant fiscal authorities—Republican and Democrat—who have led us down this road for decades find themselves in a financial cul de sac; they have run out of enabling money."

Buy a Ticket! (With Reference to the Strauss Brothers, Ambassador Mike Moore, Kenneth Arrow, Financial Sharpies, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gov. Dewey)
Remarks before the Dallas Friday Group
Dallas, Texas
October 21, 2011
"Absent some shock, I envision a slow but steady improvement in the economy into 2012. That is, if our fiscal authorities will remove their stranglehold on clarifying fiscal initiatives. If not, then, in my view, I expect job creators will remain in a defensive crouch and all bets are off."

A Report on the Economy (With a Nod to the Carl Sewells and Ben Bernanke)
Remarks before the Texas A&M Retailing Summit
Dallas, Texas
October 7, 2011
"We have filled the gas tanks of the economy with affordable liquidity. What is needed now is for employers to confidently step on the pedal and engage the transmission that will use that fuel to move the great job-creating machine of America forward."

Texas: What Makes Us Exceptional? Where Are We Vulnerable?
Remarks before the Texas Economic Development Council Annual Conference
Dallas, Texas
October 6, 2011
"We must not lose track of this simple, unalterable, indisputable, critical fact: We have done well so far; our economy is mighty. But to stay ahead of the curve and compete in tomorrow’s global marketplace, Texas must better educate its population."

Explaining Dissent on the FOMC Vote for Operation Twist (With Reference to Jan Mayen Island, Paul Volcker and Thor’s Hammer)
Remarks before the Dallas Assembly
Dallas, Texas
September 27, 2011
"Monetary policy cannot solve the problem of substandard economic performance unless it is complemented by fiscal policy and regulatory reform that encourages the private sector to put to work the affordable and abundant liquidity we are able to create as the nation ’s monetary authority."

Of Moose and Men (With No Reference to Steinbeck)
Remarks before the National Association for Business Economics
Dallas, Texas
September 12, 2011
"It is incumbent on the Fed and other bank regulators to reduce the regulatory burdens that are inhibiting—indeed, overwhelming—community bankers whose business it is to lend to creditworthy small businesses."

Connecting the Dots: Texas Employment Growth; a Dissenting Vote; and the Ugly Truth (With Reference to P.G. Wodehouse)
Remarks at the Midland Community Forum
Midland, Texas
August 17, 2011
"I have spoken to this many times in public. Those with the capacity to hire American workers... are immobilized. Not because they lack entrepreneurial zeal or do not wish to grow; not because they can’t access cheap and available credit. Rather, they simply cannot budget or manage for the uncertainty of fiscal and regulatory policy."

An Economic Overview: What's Next?
Remembering Carol Reed, Aesop's Fable, Kenneth Arrow and Thomas Dewey

Remarks before the Rotary Club of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
July 13, 2011
"We are being challenged as the place to invest job-creating capital. Our fiscal and regulatory authorities do not operate in a vacuum; we live in a globalized, interconnected world where money is free to go to wherever it earns the best return. In their solution to the debt crisis, our political leaders must develop an entirely new structure of incentives for private businesses and investors to put their money to work creating jobs here at home."

¡Ándale Pues! Get On with Advancing Hispanic Prosperity Through Education
Remarks at the Hispanic Economic Experience Conference
Dallas, Texas
June 16, 2011
"In Texas, as anywhere else in the United States and in all capitalist societies, "you earn what you learn." Every study known to man, and plain common sense, tells you that income is directly correlated to educational attainment."

Containing (or Restraining) Systemic Risk: The Need to Not Fail on 'Too Big to Fail' (With Reference to Margaret Thatcher, Geoffrey Howe, Irving Kristol, Joe Nocera, Bastiat, Nietzsche, Mencken and Sandy Weill)
Remarks before the Market News International Seminar
New York, N.Y.
June 6, 2011
"Postcrisis, the large institutions are even larger: The top 10 now account for 64 percent of assets, up from 58 percent before the crisis and substantially higher than the 25 percent they accounted for in 1990. In effect, more prudent and better-managed banks have been denied the market share that would have been theirs if mismanaged big banks had been allowed to go out of business."

A Perspective on the U.S. Economy and Monetary Policy (With Reference to the Music of Richard Wagner and Gangsta Rap)
Remarks before New Mexico State University's Spring 2011 Domenici Institute Forum
Las Cruces, New Mexico
May 4, 2011
"So, bottom line: With regard to the economy, like the music of Wagner, the pace of economic growth may not be as bad as it sounds. With regard to inflation, like gangsta rap, it may not be as good as it sounds."

'Is America's Decline Exaggerated or Inevitable?' The Role of Monetary and Fiscal Policy (With Reference to St. Peter, Calvin Coolidge, Walter Bagehot, Paul Volcker, Winston Churchill and T.R. Fehrenbach)
Remarks before the Society of American Business Editors and Writers 2011 Annual Conference
Dallas, Texas
April 8, 2011
"Now, we at the Fed are nearing a tipping point. Just as we pressed on in doing our duty through extraordinary, exigent measures, we must now discipline ourselves to just as persistently normalize our operations in a timely way."

Churchill, Baruch, Lindsay Lohan, Congress and the Fed
Remarks at the Institute of International Bankers Annual Washington Conference
Washington, D.C.
March 7, 2011
"I argued against the $600 billion extension [buying U.S. Treasuries] the voters on the FOMC approved last November. And I remain doubtful enough as to its efficacy that if at any time between now and June, it should prove demonstrably counterproductive, I will vote to curtail or perhaps discontinue it."

A Need for Innovative Fiscal Policy (With a Nod to John Stemmons, Ronald Reagan and Paddy McCoy)
Remarks before the Stemmons Corridor Business Association
Dallas, Texas
February 8, 2011
"I would be very wary of expanding our balance sheet further; indeed, given current economic and financial conditions, it is hard for me to envision a scenario where I would not use my voting position this year to formally dissent should the FOMC recommend another tranche of monetary accommodation."

The Limits of Monetary Policy: 'Monetary Policy Responsibility Cannot Substitute for Government Irresponsibility'
Remarks before a luncheon meeting of the Manhattan Institute and e21
New York City
January 12, 2011
"The key to correcting the underperformance of the American economy and American job creation does not rest with the Federal Reserve. It is in the hands of those who make fiscal and regulatory policy."

2010

Texas: What Makes Us Exceptional? Where Are We Vulnerable?
Remarks before the 2010 Pre-Session Legislative Conference
Austin, Texas
December 2, 2010

Recent Decisions of the Federal Open Market Committee: A Bridge to Fiscal Sanity? (Acknowledging Henry B. Gonzalez and Winston Churchill)
Remarks before the Association for Financial Professionals
San Antonio, Texas
November 8, 2010

Rangers, Yankees and Federal Open Market Committee: One Game at a Time
Remarks before the New York Association for Business Economics
New York, N.Y.
October 19, 2010

To Ease or Not to Ease? What Next for the Fed?
(With Reference to Bill Frenzel, Alan Greenspan, Masaaki Shirakawa, Sherman Maisel and Raghuram Rajan)
Remarks before the Economic Club of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
October 7, 2010

Observations on the U.S. Economy: Need the Fed Do More? (With Reference to Elvis Costello, Clarence Day, Narayana Kocherlakota and Bernard Baruch)
Remarks before the Vancouver Board of Trade
Vancouver, British Columbia
October 1, 2010

Monetary Policy Going Forward (Citing Bagehot, Bernanke and Babe Laufenberg)
Remarks before the Greater Houston Partnership
Houston, Texas
September 1, 2010

Random Refereeing: How Uncertainty Hinders Economic Growth (With Reference to Lucky Puppies, Pepper...and Salt, Lawrence Summers and Thomas Jefferson)
Remarks before the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
San Antonio, Texas
July 29, 2010

Financial Reform or Financial Dementia?
Remarks at the SW Graduate School of Banking 53rd Annual Keynote Address and Banquet
Dallas, Texas
June 3, 2010

Minsky Moments and Financial Regulatory Reform
Remarks before the 19th Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference on the State of the U.S. and World Economies
New York City
April 14, 2010

Where We Go from Here: The Crisis and Beyond (With Reference to P. G. Wodehouse, John Kenneth Galbraith, Alan Greenspan and an Unnamed Eller College Student)
Remarks before the Eller College of Management, University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
March 30, 2010

Lessons Learned, Convictions Confirmed
Remarks before the Council on Foreign Relations
New York City
March 3, 2010

Roadblocks to Recovery (With Apologies to W. H. Auden and Gershon Bleichröder)
Remarks before the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth
Dallas, Texas
February 10, 2010

Risks to Sustained Economic Recovery (With Lessons Learned from Winston Churchill and Teddy Roosevelt)
Remarks before the Annual Meeting of the Waco Business League
Waco, Texas
January 12, 2010

2009

Digits and Widgets (With Reference to a Wise Mother, the Golden Book Encyclopedia, Winston Churchill and Hunter Lawrence)
Remarks before the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s 4th Annual State of Education in Austin Conference
Austin, Texas
December 8, 2009

Paradise Lost: Addressing ‘Too Big to Fail’ (With Reference to John Milton and Irving Kristol)
Remarks before the Cato Institute’s 27th Annual Monetary Conference
Washington, D.C.
November 19, 2009

The Current State of the Economy and a Look to the Future (With Reference to William ‘Sidestroke’ Miles, W. Somerset Maugham, Don Ameche and Kenneth Arrow)
Remarks before the Austin Headliners Club
Austin, Texas
November 10, 2009

The Role of Globalization in the Financial Crisis and Recovery
Remarks before the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom Conference
SMU Cox School of Business
Dallas, Texas
October 16, 2009

Excerpts from Remarks Before the Texas Christian University Business Network of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
September 29, 2009

Remarks Before the 55th Annual Meeting of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce
Dallas, Texas
September 9, 2009

Post-Traumatic Slack Syndrome and the Economic Outlook (With Thanks to Finn Kydland, Dolly Parton and John Kenneth Galbraith)
Remarks at the Laboratory for Aggregate Economics and Finance
University of California, Santa Barbara
September 3, 2009

Two Areas of Present Concern: the Economic Outlook and the Pathology of Too-Big-to-Fail (With Reference to Errol Flynn, Johnny Mercer, Gary Stern and Voltaire)
Carlsbad, California
July 23, 2009

Remarks before the Washington Association of Money Managers
Washington, D.C.
May 28, 2009

Back from the Abyss: Now What?
Remarks before the 125th Annual Convention of the Texas Bankers Association
San Antonio, Texas
May 15, 2009

The Economic Predicament of the United States and the Federal Reserve’s Response in a Globalized World
Remarks before Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management
Beijing, China
April 17, 2009

The Economic Situation of the United States and the Federal Reserve’s Response
Remarks before the Japan Center for Economic Research, Institute for International Monetary Affairs and Japanese Bankers Association
Tokyo, Japan
April 8, 2009

Excerpts from “Comments on the Current Financial Crisis”
Remarks before the Ninth Annual R.I.S.E. (Redefining Investment Strategy Education) Forum
March 26, 2009

Comments on the Current Financial Crisis (an Abridged Version)
Remarks before the 2009 Global Supply Chain Conference
Fort Worth, Texas
March 4, 2009

Albert H. Gordon Lecture: Comments on the Current Financial Crisis
Remarks at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government
Cambridge, Massachusetts
February 23, 2009

The Fed's Response to the Current Economic Challenge (With References to Gershon Bleichröder and Central Bank Independence)
Remarks Before CERAWeek
Houston, Texas
February 9, 2009

2008

Historical Perspectives on the Current Economic and Financial Crisis (With Reference to Paul Volcker, Washington Irving, Walter Bagehot, Mother Caris, Rube Goldberg and Bismarck)
Remarks before the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth and the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations
Dallas, Texas
December 18, 2008

The Current State of the U.S. Economy and the Fed’s Response (With Reference to Irrational Exuberance and Virgil’s Aeneid)
Remarks before the Texas Cattle Feeders Association
Grapevine, Texas
November 4, 2008

Addressing a Credit Crisis
Remarks before the International Institute of Finance Annual Membership Meeting
Washington, D.C.
October 12, 2008

Responding to Turbulence (With Reference to Bob Dylan, Alan Brooke, Washington Irving, Anna Fisher and Marcus Nadler)
Remarks before the Money Marketeers of New York University
New York City
September 25, 2008

Economic Challenges
Remarks before the Greater Houston Partnership
Houston, Texas
September 4, 2008

Monetary Policy in Uncertain Times (With a Salute to Julius Squeezer and Mr. Bean)
Remarks before the Progress & Freedom Foundation Aspen Summit 2008
Aspen, Colorado
August 19, 2008

A Perspective on China
Remarks to a Working Dinner Sponsored by the Progress & Freedom Foundation
Aspen, Colorado
August 18, 2008

Storms on the Horizon
Remarks before the Commonwealth Club of California
San Francisco, California
May 28, 2008

Labor Omnia Vincit (Labor Conquers All Things)
Commencement Address to Admiral Farragut Academy
St. Petersburg, Florida
May 17, 2008

Selling Our Services to the World (With an Ode to Chicago)
Remarks before the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Chicago
April 17, 2008

The Egocentricity of the Present (Prefaced by the Tale of Ruth and Emma)
Remarks before a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Community Forum
San Antonio, Texas
April 9, 2008

Comments on Stylized Facts of Globalization and World Inflation
Remarks for a panel discussion at the International Symposium of the Banque de France on Globalisation, Inflation and Monetary Policy
Paris, France
March 7, 2008

Balancing Inflation and Growth
Remarks before the Society of Business Economists
London, England
March 4, 2008

Defending Central Bank Independence
Remarks at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
Mexico City, Mexico
February 7, 2008
Speech in Spanglish

Challenges for Monetary Policy in a Globalized Economy
Remarks before the Global Interdependence Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 17, 2008

2007

The U.S. Economy, Globalization and Inflation Measurement (With Brief References to Brawls, Beer and Bikinis)
Remarks before the Australian Business Economists
Sydney, Australia
November 14, 2007

John Taylor's Contributions to Monetary Theory and Policy
Welcome Remarks at a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Conference
Dallas, Texas
October 12, 2007

Inflation Measurement and Price Volatility
Remarks Before the Charlotte Economics Club
Charlotte, N.C.
October 4, 2007

In the Lap of the Gods
Remarks at the Greater Dallas Chamber Annual State of Technology Luncheon
Dallas, Texas
October 2, 2007

You Earn What You Learn
Delivered to the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce Seventh Annual Real Estate Symposium
Dallas, Texas
September 24, 2007

The U.S., Mexican and Border Economies
Remarks before a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Community Luncheon
Laredo, Texas
September 10, 2007
English | Spanish

The Southern States in a Globalized Economy
Remarks before the Southern Governors’ Association 73rd Annual Meeting
Biloxi, Mississippi
August 25, 2007

Higher Education in Texas
Remarks to the Rotary Club of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
June 13, 2007

Commencement Address at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas
June 2, 2007

Introductory Remarks to the Price Measurement for Monetary Policy Conference
Given to a Conference Organized by the Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas and Cleveland
Dallas, Texas
May 24, 2007

The Dog That Does Not Bark but Packs a Big Bite: Services in the U.S. Economy
Remarks before the U.S.–China Business Council, the Coalition of Service Industries and the American Council of Life Insurers
Washington, D.C.
May 14, 2007

Comments on Current Conundra
Remarks to the 2007 Annual Conference of the Investment Adviser Association
Austin, Texas
April 26, 2007

Remarks upon Receiving the Sun & Star Legacy Award from the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
Dallas, Texas
April 19, 2007

Fiscal Issues: From Here to Eternity (with Apologies to Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed)
Remarks before the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association
Financial Institutions Conference
Irving, Texas
April 16, 2007

Globalizing the Knowledge Economy
Remarks before the Houston World Affairs Council
Houston, Texas
April 13, 2007

Risk Is a Many Splendored Thing: Lessons Learned
Remarks to the Austin Mortgage Bankers Association
Austin, Texas
April 4, 2007

Remarks to the Headliners Club
Austin, Texas
February 27, 2007

Remarks to the Marine Military Academy upon Receipt of the Iwo Jima Leadership Award
Harlingen, Texas
February 16, 2007

Brief Comments on the Economy and the Business of the Dallas Fed
Remarks before the Park Cities Rotary Club
Dallas, Texas
February 9, 2007

2006

A Year-End Wrap-Up of the Economy and a Peek Ahead
Remarks before the Longview Rotary Club
Longview, Texas
December 19, 2006

Is German Economic Decline Exaggerated or Inevitable?
Remarks before the American Academy
Berlin, Germany
November 20, 2006

The Extended Importance of the Euro
Remarks before the European Banking Congress
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
November 17, 2006

Confessions of a Data Dependent
Remarks before the New York Association for Business Economics
New York
November 2, 2006

Remarks Upon Accepting the Service to Democracy Award and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal
Dallas, Texas
October 18, 2006

Monetary Policymaking in a Globalized World
Remarks at the HSBC Global Investment Seminar
London
October 10, 2006

The Current State of the U.S. and Mexican Economies: Where Do We Go From Here?
Remarks at a Policy Forum hosted by the El Paso Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and Monterrey Branch of the Banco de México
Monterrey, N.L., México
September 25, 2006
Speech in Spanish

A Primer on Inflation (with Comments on Real Estate in the Metroplex)
Remarks at the 6th Annual Real Estate Symposium, North Dallas Chamber of Commerce
Dallas, Texas
August 30, 2006

The Federal Reserve and Texas
Remarks at a Community Luncheon Hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
San Antonio, Texas
August 29, 2006

An Update on the Status of the Economy and Its Implications for Monetary Policy
Remarks for the Annual Joint Luncheon of Commercial Real Estate Women Dallas and North Texas Certified Commercial Investment Members
Dallas, Texas
August 16, 2006

The Economy at Midyear
Remarks at a Community Luncheon hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio Branch
Corpus Christi, Texas
June 14, 2006

Globalization's Impact on U.S. Growth and Inflation
Remarks before the Dallas Assembly
Dallas, Texas
May 22, 2006

To the Trustees of America's Economic Potential
Spring 2006 Commencement Address
Department of Economics
University of Texas at Austin
May 20, 2006

Globalization and the Latin Perspective (with Reference to Las Meninas)
Remarks at the Central Bank of Argentina
Buenos Aires
April 19, 2006
Speech in Spanish

Racing to the Top: How Global Competition Disciplines Public Policy
Remarks before the Dallas Friday Group
Dallas, Texas
April 11, 2006

A Perspective on Mexico
Remarks for the Jose Cuervo Tequila Talk
Institute of the Americas
La Jolla, California
April 5, 2006
Spanglish | español

A New Perspective on Policy
2006 Streich Family Lectureship on Free Enterprise
Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas
April 4, 2006

Asia, Trade Deficits and the Health of the U.S. Economy
Remarks before the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce
Dallas, Texas
February 23, 2006

Trade Deficits and the Health of the U.S. Economy
Remarks before the Little Rock Rotary Club
Little Rock
February 14, 2006

The United States: Still the Growth Engine for the World Economy?
Remarks at the Institute of Economic Affairs’ 23rd Annual State of the Economy Conference
London
February 6, 2006

Excerpts from Remarks on the Process of Creative Destruction to the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Worth Petroleum Club, Leaders in Government Series
Fort Worth, Texas
January 19, 2006

Coping with Globalization's Impact on Monetary Policy
Remarks for the National Association for Business Economics Panel Discussion at the 2006 Allied Social Science Associations Meeting
Boston, Massachusetts
January 6, 2006

2005

Globalization and Government Policy
Remarks at the Fifth Annual Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Policy Forum
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 2, 2005

Globalization and Monetary Policy
Warren and Anita Manshel Lecture in American Foreign Policy
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
November 3, 2005

Globalization and Texas
Remarks before The Houston Forum
Houston, Texas
October 19, 2005

Contemplating the Nature of Money and the Capillaries of Capitalism
Remarks Before Downtown Waco Inc.
Waco, Texas
October 6, 2005

A Perspective on the Economic Outlook
Remarks before the Seventh Annual Economic Forum of the Greater Dallas Chamber
Dallas, Texas
October 4, 2005

An Overview of Banking, and the U.S. and Texas Economies
Remarks before the Texas Department of Banking Staff Conference
Saluting Texas Bank Examiners’ 100th Anniversary
Austin, Texas
September 12, 2005

The World Economy: Sharpening Our Peripheral Vision
Remarks before the Council of Economic Advisors to Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.
Salt Lake City, Utah
July 29, 2005

China's Economic Growth
Remarks before the Annual Symposium on Critical Global Markets: China's Remarkable Rise, Center for American and International Law
Dallas, Texas
June 14, 2005

A Walk Around the World Economy
Remarks before the Joint World Affairs Council/Dallas Friday Group
Dallas, Texas
May 10, 2005

2004

Can Germany Hold Its Own in the New World of a Reconfigured Europe, an Ascendant China, and 21st Century America? Is German Economic Decline Exaggerated? Or Inevitable?
Remarks before the Atlantik-Brücke Annual Meeting
Berlin, Germany
June 9, 2004

About the Author

Richard W. Fisher served as president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from April 2005 until his retirement in March 2015.